Chain and common bar mechanism for superimposed vending machine



Oct. 6, 1964- R PAYNE 3,15 74 H. CHAIN AND COMMON BAR MECHANISM FOR SUPERIMPOSED VENDING MACHINE Filed July 8, .1965

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FlCl2.

JNVENTOR HARRY R. PAYNE 1 h WBLMW ATTORNEYS Oct. 6, 1964 H R PAYN "3,151,774

E CHAIN AND COMMON BAR MECHANISM FOR SUPERIMPOSED VENDING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3.

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LNVEJVTUR HARRY R. PAYNE ATTORNEYS Oct. 6, 1964 H. R. PAYNE 3,151,774

CHAIN AND COMMON BAR MECHANISM FOR SUPERIMPOSED VENDING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 4.

INVENTOR HARRY R. PAYNE W, W W70 ATTORNEYS Oct. 6, 1964 H. R. PAYNE 3,151,774

CHAIN AND COMMON BAR MECHANISM FOR SUPERIMPOSED VENDING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 L HARRY R. PAYNE I ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,151,774 CHAIN AND CGMMON BAR MEQHANISM FGR SUPERHMPGSED VENDING MACHENE Harry R. Payne, Chattanooga, Tenn, assignor, by mesne assignments, to The eebnrg Corporation, Chicago, iii,

a corporation of Delaware Filed July 8, 1963, Ser. No. 293,454 Claims. (Cl. 221125) This invention relates to superimposed vending machines of the type wherein a number of articles to be vended are mranged in superimposd groups of objects one of each group of objects being normally disposed in a vending position and locked agains removal which vending machine includes lock-out structure which permits the removal of but one article from one group of superimposed groups of articles for each cycle of operation of the machine.

The Vending machine of the present concept provides a selective vending machine permitting the user to choose from a number of groups of articles one of the type of articles which the customer desires to purchase by depositing a coin and the machine includes lock-out mecha nism which prevents the customer from removing more than one article for each coin deposited.

The vending machine of the present invention is particularly adapted to handle bottled beverages arranged in groups according to beverage; each group is supported on an inclined shelf; and the lock-out mechanism permits the removal of a single bottle from a selected shelf and prevents the removal of additional bottles during a cycle of the machine commenced by the deposit of a coin.

In the present dispensing mechanism each group of bottles is mounted on an inclined shelf so that the bottles are fed by gravity one at a time to the vending position and a divider is provided which prevents gravitational movement of all of the bottles on a shelf each time a single bottle is withdrawn from the selected group of bottles to prevent removal of more than one bottle from the selected group of bottles.

The dispensing mechanism of the present invention includes a lock-out mechanism including a chain and common bar. A swingable gate at each shelf operates the lock-out mechanism when the gate is rotated preventing rotation of the gates on the other shelves thus preventing removal of bottles from shelves other than the selected shelf.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide novel lock-out mechanism for vending machines in which a novel arrangement of a chain and lock-out plate or common bar is employed together with a latch for the plate or common bar.

Another object is to provide novel vending machines having superimposed vending stations including novel lock-out mechanism having a novel arrangement of a chain and plate or common bar together with a latch for the plate.

Another object is to provide novel lock-out mechanism for such vending machines in which a novel arrangement of lock-out chain and plate or common bar is employed together with a latch for the plate which latch is electrically released by the deposit of a coin and is returned to latching position by downward movement of the plate.

Other and further objects of the present invention will appear from the following description of an illustrative embodiment thereof.

The present invention is capable of various mechanical embodiments one of which is shown in the accompanying drawings and is described hereinafter to illustrate the present inventive concept. This illustrative embodiment should in no way be construed as defining or limiting the invention.

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In the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of an illustrative embodiment of a bottle vending machine in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view partly in section as seen from the right in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view as seen from the left in FIG. 1 showing the latch in position to prevent withdrawal of a bottle;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation corresponding to that of FIG. 4 with a gate open for withdrawal of a bottle from its tier and showing the latch in position for return to latched position; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation corresponding to that of FIG. 4 showing the position of the lock-out elements when an attempt is made to withdraw two bottles at the same time.

Referring now to the several figures, the bottle dispensing mechanism of the present invention includes four vertically disposed corner members ill, 11, 12 and 13 which support between them any desired number of spaced platform members 14, 15 and 16 which provide dispensing or vending stations for the articles to be dispensed or sold such as the bottles generally indicated at 17. Platforms 14, 15 and 16 may be provided with downwardly and upwardly extending portions 18, 19 and 2%, respectively, to receive shelf members 21, 22 and 23, respectively, which extend laterally therefrom and in an upward direction to receive and store as many of the bottles 17 as may be desired so that the bottles 17 roll downwardly under the force of gravity onto the platforms 14, 15 and i6 and into position to be dispensed. Back plates 24, 25 and 26 are provided on each of the platforms 14, 15 and 16, respectively, to prevent the weight of bottles on the respective shelf members from forcing the bottle in dispensing position out of dispensing position.

A common vertical shaft 27 is provided adjacent vertical frame member 1 and passes through each of the platform members 14, 15 and 16 and dispensing gates such as gates 23 and 29 are mounted for rotation on shaft 27 there being a suitable dispensing gate for each of the vertically disposed dispensing stations. All of the gates 28 and 29 are of similar construction and are bifurcated so that the necks of the bottles to be dispensed may be manually grasped therethrough.

The dispensing mechanism is the same for each of the dispensing stations and will be described with respect to one such station, the station provided by platform member 15 and gate 29. Referring now more particularly to FIG. 3, longitudinally extending rods 34 are pivotally connected at 31 to the tops of the gates 28, 29, etc., and at 32 to rotating plates 33 which are mounted for rotation on pivots 34- and 35, each pivot 35 extending through an upstanding portion of a member 23 and each pivot 34 extending through a portion of vertical frame member 13. Each rotating plate 33 is connected with the gate at the next lower level, the connecting rods 39 each extending under and close to the next upper platform 15, 16, etc. A spring 36 connects between each rod 3i) and the adjacent platform to urge the rods 3% to the right as seen in FIG. 3 and to urge their gates towards closed position. Springs 36 also urge members 33 into rotation about pivots 34 and 35 to the raised position seen in FIG. 1.

A second longitudinally extending rod 38 is pivotally connected to each member 33 at 39 and is pivotally connected at its other end at at to a pair of arms 41 which in turn are pivoted at 43 in an upstanding extension 44 of the adjacent platform. Thus when gate 29 is moved to open position as seen in FIG. 3 by the manual removal of a bottle 17 during the dispensing operation, its rod 30 is moved to the left as seen in FIG. 3 rotating its associated member 33 in a clockwise direction and rotating rod 33 downwardly and to the left to a position interposed between the bottle 17 being withdrawn and the next bottle 17 on the shelf 22 preventing the next bottle 17 from entering the dispensing position to prevent more than one bottle from being dispensed during a single cycle of the machine.

A novel lock-out mechanism is provided to prevent the opening of more than one dispensing gate 28 or 29 during a cycle of the mechanism. This lock-out mechanism is best seen in FIGS. 4, and 6. It will be seen that the construction is the same for each dispensing station and so will be described only with respect to one rotating member 33. Vertical frame member 13 is provided with a suitable opening to receive pivot 34 of member 33 and pivot 34 is mounted on base 46 of member 33. Member 13 is provided with pairs of arcuate shaped slots 47 and 48 symmetrically disposed around pivot 34. Slots 47 and 48 receive pins 49 and 5%, respectively, which are carried by base 46 on a diameter passing through pivot 34. Pins 49 and 50 are arranged to lie in the upper and lower extremities of slots 47 and 48, respectively, and in a vertical line when member 33 is in its raised position corresponding to the closed position of gate 29.

Outwardly and inwardly extending cleats 51 are mounted on member 10 forming guides and correspondingly shaped plates 52 are suitably secured to member 13. A common bar or plate member 53 is mounted for vertical movement in the guides formed by cleats 51 and 52 and is suitably cut away at 54 at each dispensing station to permit free rotation of pins 49 and 51 when plate 53 is in its raised position. Each opening 54 is provided with a notch 55 which is engaged by the adjacent pin 49 when rotated to move member 53 downwardly. A spring 56 connects to bar 53 at 57 and to member 13 at 58 to urge bar 53 toward its upper or raised position.

Common bar or plate 53 is provided adjacent its lower end with a cam surface 59 which has formed therein latch shoulders 66 and 61 and a vertically extending portion 62. A pair of opposed plates 63 and 64 are secured on opposite sides of the lower extremity of frame member 13 and are provided with opposed triangularly shaped openings 65 and 66, respectively, to receive a latch 67 which is urged by spring 68 to either its extreme left-hand position or its extreme right-hand position, as seen in FIG. 4. When plate 53 is in its raised position latch 67 normally engages shoulder 61 to prevent downward movement of member 53.

A latch actuating member 69 is mounted for reciprocating movement in brackets 7 i3 and 71 mounted on member 13 and member 69 is cut away at 72 to provide shoulders 73 and 74, the shoulder 74 engaging latch 67 to move the same against the action of spring 68, the shoulder 73 being masked by the plate 53 as seen in FIG. 5. Member 69 is connected to rod 75 of a suitable solenoid 76 which is mounted beneath the lowest dispensing station and is secured to platform 14 by a bracket 77.

When the user of the dispensing mechanism deposits a coin therein solenoid 76 is energized moving member 69 to the right to bring shoulder 74 into engagement with latch 67 to move latch 67 to the extreme right-hand position to release plate 53 for downward movement. Solenoid 76 is then deenergized and a suitable spring 73, connected to member 69 at 79 and to frame 13 at 30, returns member 69 to its starting position without moving latch member 67 from the position it has assumed against cam surface 59. Thereafter, when plate 53 moves downwardly during a dispensing operation, as will appear more fully hereinafter, cam surface 59 bearing against latch 67 moves latch 67 in counterclockwise rotation as seen in FIG. 6 to the position seen in FIG. 5 and upon raising of plate 53 at the end of the dispensing operation latch 67 first engages shoulder 66 and then engages shoulder 61 to prevent more than one downward movement of plate 53 for a dispensing cycle to prevent the dispensing of more than one bottle during each cycle of operation of the mechanism.

A stud 81 extends rearwardly from plate 53 through opening 83 in member 13 and, when plate 53 is in raised position, stud 81 is in the position shown in FIG. 4. When plate 53 moves downwardly stud 81 moves downwardly and limits this movement by engagement with the end of opening 83.

As will be seen in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, a box member 84 is provided for each dispensing level and comprises a lower plate 85 extending between pins 49 and 50 and mounted on pivot 34; a side wall or partition 86 extending from plate 85; and a top plate 87 extending between pins 49 and 50 and around pivot 34 and formed integrally with wall 86. Box member 84 is secured to pivot 34 by any suitable means such as a spring clip 88. Wall 86 is provided with an outturned lip portion 89 for reasons which will appear more fully hereinafter.

A resilient non-extensible member or chain 90 is secured at 91 to crosspiece 92 which extends over the common bar 53 and is spaced therefrom and is mounted on member 13. Chain 91 passes through each of the box' members 84 within wall 86 and between wall 86 and pins 49 and 5t and pivot 34. The other extremity of chain.

90 is secured at 93 to a cross member 94 which extends over and is spaced from common bar 53 and is mounted ment under the action of a pin 49 rotating with member 33 is to return latch 67 to position to engage either shoulder 6%) or 61 in plate 53 when the opened gate 29 commences return to closed position to lock the mechanism and prevent reopening of that gate or any other gate 29.

As seen in FIG. 5, when plate 53 is in its lower-most position chain 90 is taut by reason of the rotation of box member 84 at the dispensing level and no other gate 29 can be opened since an attempt to do so would bring pin 49 of that gate into engagement with the taut chain 99 and prevent further rotation thereof thus locking that gate against opening.

After deposit of the coin, should the user attempt to open more than one gate at the same time, as seen in FIG. 6, the partial rotations of the box members 84 associated with the partially opened gates will take the slack out of chain 96 and chain 99 will become taut; Common bar 53 will be moved downwardly only a short distance and the partially opened gates will be locked against further opening by chain 9-0. No other gate can be open because the associated pin 49 will engage the taut chain 94) and lock that gate against rotation.

In the situation illustrated in FIG. 6, the user can release one of the gates to supply slack to chain 90 and the other gate can then be opened to dispense a bottle. This will then move plate 53 downwardly and return latch 67 to position to engage shoulder 60 or 61 to prevent release of the open gate and opening of another gate to obtain more than one bottle for a single deposited com.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the lock-out mechanism operates to prevent the withdrawal of more than one bottle for each cycle of operation of the dispensing mechanism. When a coin is deposited in the machine solenoid 76 is energized moving the latch member 67 to the right as seen in FIG. 6 into position against cam surface 59 releasing plate 53 for downward movement. The bottle chosen by the customer is then grasped by the neck for withdrawal. Assume that this bottle is selected at platform 15. Withdrawal of the bottle 17 Will then rotate gate 2% and move its arm 3% to the left (FIG. 3) rotating its member 33 in a clockwise direction thus lowering its spacer rod 38 to prevent another bottle from feeding into the dispensing station from its shelf 21.

Rotation of member 33 rotates its pins 49 and 5t) and its box 84 in a counterclockwise direction (FIGS. 5 and 6) and pin 49 enters adjacent notch 55 and moves plate 53 downwardly. Movement of plate 53 downwardly moves surface 59 downwardly moving latch 57 to position shown in FIG. 5. Chain 99 is drawn to a taut position adjacent the others of pins Thus, at all but the dispensing station, rotation of members 33 is prevented which, in turn, acts through rods 36 to prevent opening of the gates 29 at other than the selected station.

After the selected bottle has been withdrawn gate 29 is returned by its spring as toward closed position and pins 49 and 5-3 of the corresponding member 33 rotate in a clockwise direction permitting plate 53 to be raised by action of spring 55. Latch 67, which was moved by cam surface 59 and spring 68 to the position shown in FG. 5 during the downward movement or" plate 5'3, drops progressively against shoulder 66 and then against shoulder 61 as plate 53 is raised to prevent any of the other gates from being opened. By the time there is sufficient slack in chain 99 to free pins 49 for rotation, latch 67 is engaged against shoulder 69 so that plate 53 cannot be moved downwardly and all of the gates at the dispensing stations are locked against rotation.

As noted above solenoid 76 is energized by the customer placing a coin in the dispensing mechanism through any suitable and well known circuit such as that shown in US. Patent No. 2,875,922. Thereafter the customer withdraws the selected bottle and the mechanism operates in the manner above-described to prevent withdrawal of more than one bottle for a cycle of operation of the machine.

It should now be apparent that the present invention in every way satisfies the several objectives described above.

Changes in or modifications to the above-described illustrative embodiment of this invention may now be suggested to those skilled in the art without departing from the present inventive concept. Reference should therefore be had to the appended claims to cover the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a superimposed vending machine including a vertical series of article supports, a gate for each support normally blocking removal of articles from the support, a lock-out mechanism common to the gates, a corner member, opposed arcuate slots in said member adjacent each support, an element for each support rotated by opening of the adjacent gate, a pair of studs carried by each of said elements each extending through an adjacent arcuate slot and normally lying in the long axis of said member, a plate mounted for movement over said corner member, resilient means urging said plate in one direction, latch means cooperating with at least one latch shoulder within said plate normally preventing movement of said plate in the other direction, a recess in said plate adjacent each support permitting rotation of said studs in said arcuate slots and a notch in each recess engageable by an adjacent one of said studs to move said plate against said resilient means, the improvement comprising a resilient non-extensible normally slack member mounted over said plate and engageable by said studs, spaced ends for said resilient non-extensible member and means for securing said ends to said corner member, said resilient non-extensible member being engaged by rotation of an adjacent stud removing slack from said non-extensible member when an adjacent gate is opened to remove an article.

2. In a vending machine as described in claim 1, a box member extending between each of said pairs of studs, said resilient non-extensible member passing through said box members.

3. In a vending machine as described in claim 2, each of said box members comprising spaced lower and top plates and a side wall connecting said plates, said resilient non-extensible member passing through each of said box members between said studs and said side wall.

4. in a vending machine as described in claim 3, an outturned lip on said side wall engaging said resilient nonextensible member when said box member is rotated by rotation of the associated pair of said studs.

5. In a vending machine as described in claim 1, said resilient non-extensible member being a chain.

Peters et a1 I an. 25, 1910 Hsu et al Mar. 3, 1959 

1. IN A SUPERIMPOSED VENDING MACHINE INCLUDING A VERTICAL SERIES OF ARTICLE SUPPORTS, A GATE FOR EACH SUPPORT NORMALLY BLOCKING REMOVAL OF ARTICLES FROM THE SUPPORT A LOCK-OUT MECHANISM COMMON TO THE GATES, A CORNER MEMBER, OPPOSED ARCUATE SLOTS IN SAID MEMBER ADJACENT EACH SUPPORT, AN ELEMENT FOR EACH SUPPORT ROTATED BY OPENING OF THE ADJACENT GATE, A PAIR OF STUDS CARRIED BY EACH OF SAID ELEMENTS EACH EXTENDING THROUGH AN ADJACENT ARCUATE SLOT AND NORMALLY LYING IN THE LONG AXIS OF SAID MEMBER, A PLATE MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT OVER SAID CORNER MEMBER, RESILIENT MEANS URGING SAID PLATE IN ONE DIRECTION, LATCH MEANS COOPERATING WITH AT LEAST ONE LATCH SHOULDER WITHIN SAID PLATE NORMALLY PREVENTING MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATE IN THE OTHER DIRECTION, A RECESS IN SAID PLATE ADJACENT EACH SUPPORT PERMITTING ROTATION OF SAID STUDS IN SAID ARCUATE SLOTS AND A NOTCH IN EACH RECESS ENGAGABLE BY AN ADJACENT ONE OF SAID STUDS TO MOVE SAID PLATE AGAINST SAID RESILIENT MEANS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A RESILIENT NON-EXTENSIBLE NORMALLY SLACK MEMBER MOUNTED OVER SAID PLATE AND ENGAGEABLE BY SAID STUDS, SPACED ENDS FOR SAID RESILIENT NON-EXTENSIBLE MEMBER AND MEANS FOR SECURING SAID ENDS TO SAID CORNER MEMBER, SAID RESILIENT NON-EXTENSIBLE MEMBER BEING ENGAGED BY ROTATION OF AN ADJACENT STUD REMOVING SLACK FROM SAID NON-EXTENSIBLE MEMBER WHEN AN ADJACENT GATE IS OPENED TO REMOVE AN ARTICLE. 